


Light Years Away

by gamma_gray



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Shiro (Voltron) is Missing, Takes Place During Season Three
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2018-12-24 20:14:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12020160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gamma_gray/pseuds/gamma_gray
Summary: Keith is now the Black Paladin of Voltron, the Defender of the Universe.With this new role has come more pressure being put on him. When the Voltron crew becomes aware of a planet that needs rescue from the Galra, they all look to Keith for a plan of action. Keith decides that him and Lance should go off together in order to get the job done quicker. The plan, while good in theory, ends up going terribly wrong. Lance and Keith are caught by the Galra. How will they survive? Will they be able to escape unscathed?





	1. Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron receives a distress call from the distant planet Tera. The team looks to Keith for a plan, who has little faith in himself in the role of Black Paladin of Voltron.

    Space. The endless expanse of the universe was the only thing visible from the Main Control deck of the Castle of Lions. Stars dotted the horizon, distant and little more than specs to the eye. Keith couldn’t see any planets. He couldn’t see much of anything. The blackness of the universe seemed to expand forever. He felt strangely. . . lonely. Who knew how many light years away the nearest planet was. It brought him back to the nights he spent at the shack, looking at the sky, his head full of questions. When he joined Voltron, he had gotten considerably less lonely. He had Shiro, and new friends that seemed to genuinely care about his existence. But now that Shiro had disappeared again, and the other paladins starting to question his leadership, he had begun to revert back to his angry, lonely self. Keith had never been good at controlling his emotions. On one side, he knew he had to be a better leader for the fate of the universe, but when the other members of the crew seemed to find him unfit, he felt frustrated at the circumstances. Afterall, Keith didn’t even want to pilot the Black Lion in the first place, but the mystical robot had chosen him, so he didn’t have a choice. He sighed, closing his eyes and letting the conflicting emotions swirling in his mind wash over him like a wave in the ocean.

    “Keith. . .Keith. . .Keeeeeeiiiiiiiitthh. . . KEITH!” With the last utterance of his name, the red jacket wearing paladin was pulled back to reality by Lance. Keith cleared his throat as he turned back to the gathered group. “Sorry.” he said. “Geez, must’ve been one intense daydream. I’ve been trying to get your attention for two whole minutes.” The Blue- no, Red Paladin spoke, crossing his arms and making his way back over to where the rest of the Paladins plus Coran were standing around Allura as she was showing a map of a galaxy not too far away. The newly named Black Paladin stood next to Lance, unintentionally crossing his arms the same way. 

  “Great. Now that Keith has decided to join us let's get back to business.” Allura spoke, a hint of venom in her voice. With a few swift motions of her arms, the display changed to show various words in Altean, along with some lines and mini maps. Sadly, Keith had no idea what the words meant, so he was completely clueless when Allura and Pidge began discussing the information that was supposedly shown. “These planets seem remarkably smaller than the average planet. They’re almost dwarf planets by Earth’s standards.” Pidge observed. Allura moved her hand again and the map zeroed in on a planet nearest to its star. The small planet had large volcanoes protruding from its surface, some were wide and some were skinny, resembling tall towers. Coran decided to pop in. “Ah yes, the planet Tera. I often visited the planet during my trainee days.” The Alrean royal advisor had a faraway look in his eyes, most likely reminiscing about his youth, as he so often did. “So… what's so important about a lava planet?” Hunk asked, voicing the thoughts of all the Paladins. “It's important because lately the planet has been occupied by Galra troops.” The display of the planet split in half, so that it's layers were visible. “You see there is a layer of very precious ore beneath the surface. It has many helpful properties that help the occupants thrive. Obviously the Galra are now taking advantage of this planet, and are now using the minerals for their own personal gain.” The model of the planet resumed its sphere shape and red dots popped up all around its surface. Around eleven in total, but one red dot was larger than the rest. “Each red dot is a Galra drilling base. They’re guarded by sentries.” Allura said. “This one here,” She gestured to the larger red dot. “Is the main base of operations. A Galra General named Ryzox is stationed here.”

    “Does anyone live on Tera?” Pidge asked, an eyebrow raised. The Green Paladin had a point. Keith couldn’t understand how any living creature would be able to live on a volcanic planet. But if they had to save the planet from the Galra, the people should be the top priority. That's what Shiro would've said, anyway. “Yes, the planet has inhabitants. They are a strong species that live in the volcanoes. But with the Galra there, I think it's safe to assume that they have been imprisoned.” Spoke Coran. “When will we reach the planet?” asked Hunk. “If all goes well, we should be able to arrive at Tera in one quintant.” answered Allura. She stepped away from her futuristic display as it disappeared. “I suggest we all get some rest. It’ll be a long and tiring mission.” The Altean princess was about to exit when Lance spoke up. “Shouldn’t we have a plan?” The Red Paladin asked. Keith waited for Allura or Coran to respond, but then he realized that all of his teammates were looking at him for a plan. He felt pressured to think of something. But. . . what? If only Shiro were here, he could’ve given everyone an inspiring pep talk, and thought of a good game plan. But he wasn’t. He wasn’t here, and Keith just had to accept it. 

    “Well. . .” The newly Black Paladin started. “Hitting the drilling sites one by one together would take forever.” Keith said. “The drilling stations were in a ring around the planet. And the main base was in the middle of them. I say we split up into two groups and make our way to the middle, then we’ll team up to take down the main drilling base.” Keith explained. The Voltron crew’s faces turned surprised. “That. . . actually sounds like a good plan.” Lance spoke up. The brown haired paladin gave Keith an approving look, the Black Paladin returned it with a slight upturn of the lips. The other paladins shared looks of agreement. “Hunk, Pidge, Allura,” the three pilots perked up at the mentions of their names. “You’ll go together and hit all of the stations on your side.” They nodded. “What about me?” Asked Lance. Keith met his eyes. “You’re coming with me, of course.” Lance smiled, face turning a light shade of pink. But that could’ve  just been a figment of Keith’s imagination. When he finally pried his eyes away from Lance, Keith turned to Coran. “Coran, you stay in the Castle and be ready to give us cover if things go wrong.” When the crew looked worried, he added, “Which they won’t.” The Altean royal advisor saluted and began to exit the room. “I suppose I better go and make sure all is working smoothly in the control room.” Pidge followed after him. “I’ll go with you.” She said, the automatic doors closing behind the two. 

    Hunk stretched his arms above his head. “Welp, I’m gonna go make some pre-battle food. See you guys around.” And with that, the Yellow Paladin left. Moments passed, a somewhat awkward silence falling on the three paladins that remained. Sometimes Keith hated the quiet. It gave him time to think, and he didn’t like thinking. His head turned back to the view of the stars, and without meaning to, his feet carried him closer. Shiro is out there somewhere, I just know it. He let out a sigh. He’s lost. I lost him. Again. Keith lost Shiro twice already. The first time when the Kerberos mission failed. Then again when he went into Zarkon’s ship. And now, after Zarkon was killed and Lotor has risen to power, Shiro has disappeared once more. Keith knew that Shiro would’ve loved to see him become a good leader. He should be here he thought. He knew that he had to move on. He was trying his best to try and forget, but it was painful. Losing his brother figure and closest confident took a toll on Keith. But perhaps he was being selfish. Afterall, everyone else was feeling the loss as well, and they appeared to be doing just fine. So why was Keith still moping around? Surely leaders don’t act like, in Pidge’s words, ‘loners’. But who or what else would be able to fill in the void Keith felt in his soul.

    The sound of footsteps coming towards him startled the Black Paladin from his thoughts. Lance. Before Keith even turned around, he knew who it was that came up behind him. “Keith, you doin’okay?” Lance asked. The taller boy stood next to him, and put a somewhat hesitant hand on Keith’s shoulder. Said boy was surprised by the sudden contact, but he loosened up eventually. “I’m fine.” He wasn’t fine. But Keith put on a brave face anyway, averting his eyes away from Lance and crossing his arms defensively. But the Red Paladin wasn’t buying it. The grip on Keith’s shoulder got tighter. “Look, if you ever want to talk about something that’s bothering you . . . you can come to me.” Keith couldn’t help but look back into his eyes. Lance’s stare was unwavering. He meant what he said. “Right. Thanks.” Keith responded after a short pause. Lance’s hand left his shoulder. “I mean, I am your Right-Hand Man after all.” The brown haired boy smiled. Keith nodded. “Of course.” He looked away only to see that Allura had left the room, leaving the two paladins alone. Seeing Keith look away, Lance spoke up. “She left to go connect with Blue. She’s been making a lot of progress with her lately.” He said, a hint of sadness in his voice and a longing look in his eye. The black paladin caught onto it immediately. “You miss Blue, don’t you?” Keith said. Lance sighed, then bobbed his head yes. 

    “It’s just. . . I thought Blue and I had something, you know? When she chose me I felt special, like I mattered. And when I was flying that thing on Earth. . . oh man that was the best feeling in the world.” Lance paused, a sad smile on his face. “I was finally doing something great, something worthwhile. I wasn’t just some cargo pilot from the Garrison anymore. I had a destiny.” His smile disappeared. “But then Blue rejected me. And that. . . that hurt, you know?” Lance looked over at Keith, looking like a kicked puppy. “Red chose you though, didn’t she?” The Black Paladin responded. “I. . . guess so. She didn’t bite my head off or anything so I suppose that’s a good sign.” Lance said. “See?” Keith rose an eyebrow. “You’re still an important part of Voltron, Lance. Maybe not the same part as before, but I couldn’t imagine anyone else being my Right-Hand Man.” He said. Then it was his turn to put a comforting hand on the other boy’s shoulder. Lance smiled, patting the hand on his shoulder. “Thanks Keith. You may have that ugly mullet but you know just what to say. Sometimes.” Keith rolled his eyes but couldn’t resist the smirk that appeared on his face. Lance chuckled, a sound Keith could listen to all day and never get tired of hearing. 

    After his laughter faded Lance heaved a sigh. “Well I’m gonna go take a nap now. I’ll need all the energy I can muster for the mission.” Lance stretched his arms above his head and began to walk away. “You should get some rest, too. It’s been non stop action for the past while. Even mighty leaders need time to recharge.” He said, giving Keith a concerned look. “Right, yeah. Sleep. Got it.” The Black Paladin nodded. Lance smiled and exited the room. Keith stayed in place a moment longer, until a long yawn signaled that he should probably listen to Lance, then he made his way to his room in the Castle. It wasn’t the shack, definitely, but it had become his familiar quarters anyway. He took off his cropped jacket and layed down. He was out in no time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this was a very short chapter. This was mostly meant for some exposition, I promise the future chapters will be much longer. And at this point I should mention that I know that this idea of them going on a mission together alone isn't original and it has definitely been done before, but I just wanted to try my hand at it.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron lands on the planet Tera, and go over their plan of attack one more time. All the while Lance begins to doubt his skills, and questions whether or not he has the ability to pull off such a risky plan.

    One of the many things that Lance hated about space, besides the whole Galra empire trying to take over the universe stuff, was that you could never tell when it was day or night. But even if there was no sun to shine on him, his internal clock told him that it was way too early to be awake and going on a mission. But Lance put on a smile and pushed through it, as he always did with his problems. His eyes scanned the Voltron crew that was gathered once again in the main control deck of the Castle of Lions. It looked like Keith was speaking with Allura and Coran, perhaps going over his plan again before they landed on Tera. Lance saw that his good friend, Hunk, was trying to shake off his exhaustion as well. He was rubbing his eye tiredly, standing near Pidge, who also seemed to be attempting to ward off the feeling of sleep. 

    “This might actually work, Keith.” Allura said, loud enough for Lance to hear even in his current state. “Yes, if everything goes as planned, this could be our quickest mission yet!” Coran said, twirling his mustache in thought. The Black Paladin nodded, his face blank, and yet so full of unspoken determination. It was all in the eyes. Lance knew that Keith most likely had his doubts about his plan, but the Red Paladin knew that Keith did not like failure. The plan would work out just fine, Keith wouldn’t allow himself or the team to fail. Without thinking, Lance was staring into Keith’s eyes, the latter boy’s purple iris’ were a light with the aforementioned determination. The two paladins shared a moment’s bond, but looked away when Coran once again spoke up.

    “We are just a few ticks away from reaching Tera!” The members of Voltron looked out towards where the lava planet came closer and closer.  Or rather, as the Castle of Lions reached Tera. Lance could see a few of the drilling bases on the surface of the planet. “That large canyon over there looks like a good landing place. Nice and hidden by the mountains.” Coran said, as Allura helped to lower the Castle down to the surface of Tera. What looked like little ants began to crowd outside of caves. Wait. . . those weren’t ants. . . they were inhabitants. 

    The landing was rough, causing the occupants of the Castle of Lions to lose their balance, but not enough force to knock them off their feet completely. “Here we are, planet Tera!” Once Lance had regained his balance, he followed the rest of the Voltron crew out of the Castle, putting on his helmet. Sure  enough, as he stepped onto the rocky terrain, many Teranians were surrounding them, whispers in an alien language filled the sheltered canyon

    Allura found a boulder to stand on and gestured for Coran to join her. The Altean royal advisor gratefully leaped onto the rock, a grin on his face. The princess cleared her throat and addressed the gathering of Teranians. “Greetings, Tera! I am princess Allura of Altea, and Blue Paladin of Voltron! We’ve heard of your predicament, and are here to aid you in your time of need!” The crowd cheered, putting a smile on Lance’s face. He loved seeing the hope in their eyes, hope that they probably hadn’t felt in a long time. But it also brought a lot of stress with it. What if the mission failed? What if the inhabitants suffered because of their mistakes? Because of his mistakes? Lance shook the thoughts away. He had to keep a brave face on. 

    “We would like to meet with your leader. Are they here?” Allura asked. The Teranians began to step to the side, making a line in the center of the crowd. The Paladins all exchanged looks. A strong figure walked towards the group, their strides long and regal. The figure had long black hair with a braid, and half of their face was made up of purple crystal. Their clothing was tattered, and rocks covered most of their body. As the figure came closer, their one all black eye pierced them. “I am Zaltana, ruler of Tera.” Their voice was deep and firm. They eyed the Voltron crew again then spoke. “Where is the Black Paladin?” Lance looked over to Keith, who seemed uncertain about officially stating his title. Keith closed his eyes for a moment, and Lance decided to help his friend out. “That’s Keith, our fearsome leader.” He grinned, gesturing to the boy in the red armor. Keith looked up in slight surprise, but quickly put a smirk on his face. “And this is Lance, my right-hand man.” Keith said, nodding to Lance, who appreciated the mention. Zaltana nodded towards the two. “I see. Well, I hope you have a good plan of attack. My people and I have had little success of storming any of the drilling stations. Most of my people have been captured by the Galra and are being held prisoner at the Main Station.” They said. 

    “Well we have a plan.” Keith said. Zaltana raised an eyebrow. The Black Paladin cleared his throat and explained his plan to the Teranian ruler. Lance listened in. running through the plan in his own head. The doubts began to fill his head once more. The more he heard the plan, the less faith he had in himself to complete it. I mean. . . only Keith and him going off on their own? They would get overpowered far too easily, surely it was certain death? Lance trusted Keith’s plan at first, it seemed like a good plan. But was the risk worth the reward? Lance shook his head. Of course it was worth it. He would sacrifice anything if it meant freeing another planet from the rule of the cruel Galra Empire. After all, the Voltron team could always find another Paladin. But a whole planet? That’s irreplaceable. 

    “That sounds like quite the plan. If there’s any way me and my people can help, you know where to come.” Zaltana said. Allura smiled. “Thank you, Zaltana, for your offer. Hopefully we will not need to put your people in more danger.” The Altean princess said. Lance looked up to see a distant sun-like star lowering in the sky. “Uhh. . . not to worry anyone but, maybe we should get ready to go soon.” Lance said. “You’re right, Lance, in the dark we will be harder to detect, and we’ll have the element of surprise on our side.” Allura looked determined, and ready for battle. “Good luck, paladins of Voltron.” Zaltana said, smiling crookedly. 

    The team said their goodbyes and headed back into the Castle of Lions. Coran left to the main control deck to prepare for emergencies. The rest of the paladins headed to their hangars. “Hunk, Allura, you should come with me. The Green Lion’s cloaking abilities should give us some extra protection.” Pidge said. “Great thinking, Pidge!” Hunk said, making his way over to the Green Paladin. Allura joined them and the three entered the Green Lion’s hangar. Lance looked over to Keith, who was running a hand through his hair. Gosh, that mullet. He really needed a haircut. Or a ponytail. “Keith, we should probably take Red since he’s more resistant to the immense heat.” Lance said. The Black Paladin nodded and walked over to him. Lance and Keith both travelled down to Red, which ended up with them being squished together and closer than they’d probably liked. 

    Finally they reached Red, and Lance got into the pilot seat. Suddenly the Lion powered on and they were off. They soared above the Teranian mountains and cliffs. The rocky terrain blurred together as they flew to the first drilling station. Lance heard Keith sigh from behind him. “Uh. . . thanks for covering for me back there, Lance.” He said. Lance spared a look back at his friend. “Of course, that’s what Right-Hand Mans are for, right?” He joked. Keith let out a small chuckle. Well it was more like an exhale, but Lance would pretend he got the ‘loner’ Keith to laugh, it made him feel good. “I just. . . I don’t know what came over me. I guess I’m just having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I’m the Black Lion now. It felt wrong. All of these people. . . they expect me to be some amazing leader, but I’m not. It’s just like Pidge said, I’m the loner. I’m not supposed to lead. I froze up out there, that’s no way for a leader to act, especially in a war like this.” Keith said. Lance hated hearing him talk like that. “I know exactly how you feel, Keith. Maybe it’ll take a little bit more time but I have faith in you that you can be a great leader. Maybe even better than Shiro.” That seemed to have struck a nerve in Keith, because the Black Paladin flinched. “I just mean that you can really bring good things to the team. You aren’t just the loner. You’re amazing with the sword, and you’re a great pilot.” Lance tried to make up for the comment about Shiro. He knew that it was a sensitive topic, especially to Keith. God, why did he have to open his big mouth? 

    “Thanks. But I can’t replace Shiro.” Keith said. Lance took a breath. “No one can, but you can be a different kind of leader. I miss Shiro too but maybe we needed a change.” He hoped he didn’t sound insensitive. Lance really was trying to cheer him up, but he was never very good at it. His hands clenched Red’s controls tighter. “Let’s just focus on the mission.” Keith said, a note of irritation in his voice. Lance’s shoulders sagged and he gave a firm nod. The Red Paladin steered them towards the drilling station and found a cavern nearby to leave Red. Lance pet Red’s paw. “Don’t go anywhere!” He said as the particle barrier went up around the Robot Lion. The two Paladins walked in silence to the drilling station. It was tense. Lance knew he said something wrong, but he didn’t know what to say without rubbing salt into the gaping wound. Once they finally reached the entrance, Lance decided to try and break the silence. “You ready to do this?” Lance asked. Keith looked into his eyes for a moment but quickly looked away. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” He said.         

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. . . I planned on having this chapter out before season four came out but I procrastinated too much I suppose. Due to the *ahem* . . . changes. . . in the dynamics of team Voltron, I feel like I should point out that this story takes place in the middle of season three, before they find "Shiro" (Whether you believe that they found the real Shiro or a clone Shiro doesn't matter). Therefor Keith in this story is still pilot of the black lion. Now, I have my own opinions on the new changes the season brought but I won't state them here. Anyway, hope you enjoy the rest of the story! Or not. I don't own your life. You do you fam.


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins begin their siege on the Teranian drilling stations. But things start to go wrong when the two groups lose contact with one another and are unable to communicate. Lance and Keith face even harder circumstances as sentries begin to gang up on the pair, and they lose power fast. Things are looking bleak for the Voltron crew.

    “You ready to do this?” Lance asked. Keith looked up into his stunning blue eyes, just like his armor. He pulled his eyes away from the Red Paladin, eyes narrowing. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” He summoned the black bayard, which formed into a sword in his hand. Lance held his red lazer gun in his arms. The two didn’t speak as they found an opening in the side of the drilling base. Keith used his sword to pry it open, then stepped in. Lance followed him, and the pair found a safe space to gather. They crouched down low. “Pidge, can you send us the layout of the base?” Keith said. After a few moments the Green Paladin responded, her voice covered in static over the comms. “Sure, just gimme a few ticks.” Soon the layout of their drilling base appeared in their helmets. “Thanks Pidge!” Lance said. The girl’s voice crackled away and the two were left to study the maps. Keith stared at the display, trying to memorize the maze of hallways, but he wasn’t very good at that kind of stuff. He scanned the map again, but it made no difference. Lance spoke up. “I. .  . think I know where to go.” He cleared the map from his helmet and stood up.  Keith followed suit. 

    “Just follow my lead.” Lance said. “Isn’t it me that’s supposed to be leading?” Keith said. Lance let out a chuckle, which unintentionally made a smile creep onto Keith;s face. He quickly smothered it. “We just have to go down this hallway for awhile, then we take some turns.” The Red Paladin readied his gun. Keith held up his sword and peeked out of their small nook only to see a few sentries walking around. Lance peeked out under him and aimed his gun. And with three quick shots, the sentries were out. “Come on!” The two Paladins dashed out from the nook and raced down the hallway. Keith kept moving his head, on the lookout for more sentries that might sneak up on them. The two came up on a cross roads. Lance looked between the three ways. “Uhh. . . Left! No, right! No. . . left?” Keith groaned. “I thought you knew where you were going!” He yelled. He was still feeling irritable over the Red Paladin’s mentioning of Shiro, and he was never very good at containing his anger. Keith pulled up the map of the drilling station. “We go right.” Lance nodded, a disappointed look in his eyes. 

    Once they turned, six sentries faced them, lazer guns ready. Keith clenched his bayard and ran forward, slashing the nearest sentrie and sending it reeling. The sound of lazers going off told him that Lance was aiding him in taking them down. Keith wrestled with a sentry for a while then was finally able to take it down. With an arching movement of his arm, he was able to slam a sentry against the wall, then stab it through a weak spot. When Keith turned around, all the sentries were taken out. “Nice work, Keith.” Lance had a smile, but Keith could tell it was forced. He tried to pay no mind as the two forged on down the way. 

    They took a left and came across more enemies. They took them out with ease. Keith was beginning to feel more confident in his plan. They seemed to be doing fairly well, maybe he was turning into a good leader after all? His pace quickened, along with Lance’s. With another look at the map, they were finally able to get to the control room. Lance took out the guards in front and Keith opened up the room. He slashed down the remaining sentries. The controls popped up in front of him. Lance walked up behind him. The two looked at the multiple buttons and displays. Keith saw a place where a hand was supposed to go, and he pressed his own against it. In situations like this, he was thankful for his Galra blood. Where Pidge could hack with her brains alone, Keith had his own ways. He pressed a few random buttons and soon the whole station powered down. Keith smirked. Lance put a hand on his shoulder. “Sharp work, Samurai.” Keith raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, Lance.” The two took one last look at the control panel then exited the drilling station. “One down, four more to go!” Lance exclaimed. 

X

    “Hunk watch out! You’ve got a sentry behind you!” Pidge called out. The Yellow Paladin spun around and knocked the sentry out. “Nice eye, Pidge!” Hunk said, going back to firing his bayard at approaching enemies. Pidge ducked below a sentry and electrocuted them with her bayard. She looked over to see that Allura was holding her own. The Altean princess was a natural with her bayard. She swung it around as if it were an extension of her body. Pidge’s helmet crackled and Lance’s voice spoke. “Just cleared the third drilling station, onto the fourth!” The Red Paladin exclaimed. “Roger that!” Pidge said through the comms. “Geez they got all the easy ones!” Hunk groaned, slamming a sentry with his gun. 

    Pidge got surrounded by sentries on all sides. She tried her best to defeat them but she couldn’t do it alone. “Uh, a little help here!” She yelled out in pain as a lazer nicked her in the leg. “I’m coming, Pidge!” Allura rushed to the Green Paladin’s aid, taking down a few sentries. Allura wrapped her whip around a sentry and flug it to the side, taking out two others with it. Pidge grinned then, with a new boost of confidence, dodged a sentries gun and slashed it in the throat. With that, all the sentries in the way of the control room were taken out. Hunk gave a relieved cheer, and Allura heaved a sigh. “C’mon, we gotta shut this thing down!” Pidge lead the two other Paladins into the control room. She gave the many controls a look over, then went to work. After being in space so long, Pidge had gotten used to all the alien tech. She was able to make quick work of shutting down their third drilling station. Within seconds the station powered down, all the lights shutting off, leaving them in darkness. 

    “Good job, Pidge! We can always count on you.” Hunk said with a grin.  Or at least, Pidge assumed he was grinning. Allura used the light on the knuckles of her armor to shine a light on the path out of the drilling station. “Just finished at our third station!” Pidge spoke into the comms. She thought she heard Lance’s voice on the other side, but the sound was covered in static. “Lance?” Pidge asked. More static, then the communication was cut off. “That’s weird.” Hunk said. “Usually even from across galaxies we can hear each other. . .” He said. “It is quite strange.” Allura said as she lead the way to their next drilling station. Pidge went over some of the possibilities of what was happening in her head. Maybe it was just a glitch in the system? This Altean tech was over ten thousand years old after all. Or it could be this planet’s atmosphere made for a difficult connection? But it was working before. . . so why would it fizzle out all the sudden? Was someone purposefully messing with the connection? 

    Pidge decided to keep this assumption to herself until more evidence came to light. She didn’t want to worry the team and put them off course. 

    The three went on their way to the fourth drilling station in a determined silence. They were almost done with their half of the plan, and so far it was going well, besides the connection issues. Pidge summoned her bayard and broke open a hatch into the next station. Her two comrades jumped in after her and readied their weapons. To their surprise, no sentries awaited them.  Pidge led the way down the hall. They came up on a split path, and she looked down both sides. “Okay. . . that’s also freaky. . .” She said. “Yeah, where are all the sentries?” Hunk asked. “I don’t know, but we should keep our guard up.” Allura said, holding her battle stance. Pidge pulled the map of the current drilling station up on her helmet to find out where they needed to go. 

    “Seems like a normal station to me.” Pidge spoke. “This way.” The group turned left down the way. They ran through the drilling station, keeping an eye out for any lurking sentries. But the only sound they heard was their feet on the metal floor as they dashed to the control room. Pidge filled the silence by trying to contact Lance and Keith again. “Lance? Keith? How are you guys doing?” And once again all she could hear was static over the comm. She could pick out some points where she could hear Keith’s voice, but she couldn’t make out any words or sentences. “Okay something’s obviously wrong, maybe we should go check on them.” Hunk stopped running, Allura and Pidge joining him. 

    “I was hoping it was just a glitch in the system, but I think you’re right, Hunk. We should go check on them.” Pigde nodded to her team, then they headed off in the same direction they came from. Both Allura and Hunk tried to contact the Red and Black Paladins, but with no success. “I hope they’re alright, I hate not knowing what’s going on.” Allura said with eyebrows narrowed in concern. “Whatever’s going on, we should get to them quick. Before something really bad happens. I’ve got a bad feeling about this situation.” Hunk said.

X

    “Why are there so many sentries!” Lance called out. The pair were perched in the doorway of some room. The Red Paladin was shooting his gun at approaching sentries, while Keith slashed his sword at any sentries that got too close for comfort. “Maybe they all got word that we were here and decided to give us a warm welcome.” Keith grunted under the pressure of combat. “Maybe this has something to do with us not being able to communicate with the others?” Lance said. As much as Keith didn’t want to admit it, he knew that Lance was probably right. This new revelation, along with the mentioning of Shiro earlier. . . the Black Paladin was not in a good mood. His anger transferred into intense force in his attacks. He slashed through sentries left and right with his bayard. 

    Keith focused on protecting Lance, no matter how annoyed he was with him at the moment, from potential attackers. The Red Paladin was a good sharp shooter, but he still needed cover from his blind spots. In the midst of fighting, he heard Lance try and contact the others again. “Hunk! Pidge! Allura! We need some support over here!” He called into the comms. After a few moments he sighed. “Nothing again.” He continued to fire and aim with accuracy, even though Keith could tell that he was beginning to lose hope. He shook his head. No. He was not going to let this mission fail. Not when he was at the head of it. Literally. 

    But no matter how many sentries they defeated, it seemed that twice as many appeared in their place. The fourth drilling station was turning out to be the most difficult. “How many sentries are there on this planet!” Lance exclaimed. He was starting to sound exhausted. Keith couldn’t blame him, it felt like they had been fighting these things for hours. His former brute strength was beginning to fade, leaving his muscles weak and bones tired. Lance’s gun fire was getting slower and slower, which meant that sentries were getting closer. “Keith.” Lance spoke feebly. The Black Paladin’s vision was getting blurry and the world seemed to be moving in slow motion. “Lance.” Keith’s voice cracked. His sword grew heavier in his arm. “Keith!” Lance’s voice sounded alarmed and Keith saw what he was looking at. A Tall, black armored, galra general rushed towards them. 

    Keith’s stomach dropped. His heart raced as he tried to slash his sword faster, and attempted to grab Lance by the arm and run in the opposite direction. They got around a turn in the hallway and kept running at high speed. But in his haste, he tripped over a fallen sentry, Lance falling next to him with a grunt. The Black Paladin felt his comrade grab his hand. “Lance I’m sorry.” Keith squeezed his hand with what little strength he had left in him. Black spots appeared on the edges of his vision, but he could just barely make out Lance’s sweaty and beaten up face. The Red Paladin curled one side of his lips upwards in a crooked smile. He tried to return the gesture but instead Keith’s head rolled back limply. The last thing Keith saw was Ryzox striding fearlessly towards the pair. 

    “The Black and Red Paladins of Voltron. My lucky day.” He laughed, a low grumbling sound. “You fell right into my hands so easily. That foolish plan of yours was never going to work. It was suicide.” He towered over the fallen Paladins with a gloating smirk on his face. 

    Keith wanted nothing more than to jump up and slash his throat, but before he could move an inch, his vision faded to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I really wanted to get this chapter out quicker but school started to catch up with me I guess. Luckily the past few days have granted me with enough time to finish the chapter. I have no idea when the next chapter will come out, but I will try to get it out faster than I got this one out. Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter, no matter how mentally harrowing it might be.


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith try to piece together an escape plan from the Galra prison cell they awake in. Meanwhile, Pidge, Allura, and Hunk regroup back at the Castle to figure out whats going on, and how to rescue the two missing paladins.

Lance couldn’t really remember exactly what happened. He knew that in an attempt to bring them both to safety, Keith had fallen over a sentry. He knew that Ryzox had appeared, taunting them. But then Ryzox had struck Lance on the head, and after that everything was a blur. Lance was only able to catch a few scattered moments after he had been knocked out. He saw nothing of substance, mostly just bit of him and Keith being dragged along eerily lit hallways. 

Keith.

Keith had tried to help him, Keith had tried to make his plan succeed. But in the end they both succumbed under the weight of their exhaustion. Lance immediately thought of the rest of their team, standing alone against the Galra. He thought of all the Teranians he couldn’t save. And all the other planets that would have to suffer under the Galra Empire because Lance had failed, and Voltron would be captured and for all he knew that would be the end of freedom in the universe. The end of hope. 

Lance woke up with a start. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest. He couldn’t see much of anything except for a vague shape in the dim light.  
“Keith?” He said immediately. Lance reached out feebly to touch the figure, only to feel shaking. “Keith?” He said again, voice cracking with worry.  
It was then that Lance heard quiet whimpering, and his heart completely stopped. Is he crying? Lance thought. He scooted closer to his friend. His eyes adjusted to the dark and he discovered that Keith was, in fact, crying. 

The Black Paladin sniffed and moved away from Lance. “I’m a failure.” His voice was pathetic, barely louder than a whisper. Lance wasn’t even sure he had heard it at first.  
“You’re not a failure.” Lance said, shaking his head. “Why would you even think that?” He asked.  
“My mission failed, and now we’re captured, and the others probably don’t even know.” Keith muttered angrily, voice shaking. “Now the Galra are gonna take our lions, and then Voltron, and then all of our efforts are gonna be meaningless. “  
Lance was momentarily speechless. He had the same fears as him. But as much as they consumed him, Lance knew he had to raise Keith’s hope. A leader who did not believe in himself was not a leader they needed.  
“You had a good idea, though.” Lance started. Keith looked up, eyes narrowed. “You wanted the mission to go quick, and you wanted it to work. So you made a plan that would achieve that. Yes, maybe it didn’t work as you thought it would, but you had a good thing going. Now that’s the sign of a good leader.” Lance smiled. 

“But we still ended up here, didn’t we?” Keith lifted an arm and vaguely gestured to the dark cell they were sitting in. “We’ll never get out, not if we can’t communicate with the others.” He set his chin on the tops of his knees. Keith wasn’t acting like his normal self, the normal Keith would be pacing the cell, bayard in hand, ready to bust out. The normal Keith would be trying anything and everything to escape. But the Keith in front of Lance was not the normal Keith. This Keith was sitting on the cold metal floor, head bowed in defeat. Lance wouldn’t stand for it.

“We’re gonna get out.” Lance said, voice firm.  
“But how? We have no way to communicate with the others, remember?” Keith narrowed his eyes.  
Truthfully, Lance didn’t have a plan, but he needed something that would give Keith courage. He scanned the cell to search for something that would give him an idea. Suddenly, it came to him. The idea was so obvious. “The vents.” Lance said.  
“The vents?” Keith asked.  
“Yeah, the vents! We’ll crawl through them and find our way out, somehow.” Lance said with a new boost of confidence.  
Keith let out a chuckle. “You really think that’ll work? It would take forever for us to escape.” He asked.  
“You have a better idea?” Lance raised an eyebrow.  
Keith kept his mouth shut, not meeting Lance’s eyes. The Red Paladin took this as a no. 

“Then it’s settled, we’re going through the vents.” Lance stood up, legs weak at first, but eventually they strengthened. He offered his hand to Keith. He stared at it for a moment, then heaved a great sigh and took it. Lance pulled his comrade to his feet.

Keith summoned his bayard and slashed open the vents. They climbed in, an action which proved to be difficult due to the tight space. They had to army crawl through the vents. They were going at a very slow pace, but they were safe and out of sight from the Galra. That was enough for them. 

X

Pidge, Hunk, and Allura had fled back to the Castle of Lions to regroup. After they realized that Lance and Keith might be in serious danger, they knew they had to get out of the battle and think of a new plan of attack.  
“They must’ve been captured, there’s no other explanation! The comms were working fine until we were almost through with our attack! I say that Ryzox found out that we were there, then messed with the signals so we couldn’t communicate with each other.” Pidge was typing away at her station, still in her battle armor. 

“These small time Galra guards are getting smarter.” Hunk was leaning over Pidge’s shoulder. “This could mean trouble. If we can’t communicate with them, how will we know if they’re even okay or not? Oh god, they could be anywhere right now!”  
“Calm down, Hunk, the last thing Lance and Keith need right now is a scared and unorganized team.” Allura was working at her own station, studying the map of Tera. Now the map was tracking Galra soldiers and their whereabouts. 

“What do you suggest we do, princess?” Coran asked, standing nearby.  
“We need to act fast. The longer we wait around, the less time we have to save them. We need to prepare for a full attack on the main drilling base. Coran, prepare the castle’s defensive and offensive systems. This is a high stake mission. We have no room for error.” Allura wiped some sweat from her brow. What was supposed to be a swift mission has now turned into a stressful rescue of two of the paladins. 

Coran ran off to the engine room to make sure all systems were working properly, while the remaining three Paladins thought of an attack plan. Pidge managed to find some secret entrance points that they could use to their advantage. 

“I could drop us off back here in the green lion, her cloaking abilities will help conceal us so we’ll have the element of surprise on our side.” Pidge spoke, a hint of pride in her voice.  
“Good, it’s settled then.” Allura spoke in a rush. “Everyone into the green lion!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay yes this was very short. And like a billion years after the last chapter but whatever. the next chapter will be the last, and the longest.


	5. Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance put himself in harm's way to save Keith.

“I think I see a light ahead!” Lance exclaimed breathlessly. Their crawl through the vents had begun to take a toll on him. His back and knees ached, but he knew that it would be worth it when they emerged and kicked some Galra butt. 

A few more yards and the vent opening was clearly in sight. Both paladins leaned over it, trying to get a view of the hallway below. Some sentries passed, arms at the ready, but nothing else. 

“Okay, on the count of three, we’ll jump down.” Keith summoned his bayard.  
Lance nodded, following his lead.

“Alright,” Keith breathed. “One . . . two . . . three!” The Black Paladin slashed open the vent with his sword and the two leaped down onto the passing sentries.

The lifeless vessels hadn’t seen them coming, so taking them down was relatively easy. They tore through the sentries and began their frantic dash down the hallway, searching for an escape pod. A few more enemies crossed their path, but their mounting adrenaline gave them new strength. No sentry would stand a chance. 

“There!” Lance shouted, pointing at the launching bay for the escape pods.

“Good eye Lance!” Keith smirked, giving the Red Paladin a warm feeling.

They were about to cross the distance when a large explosion rocked the ship. Both of the paladins hit the side of the hallway with such force that it knocked the breath out of them. 

“What was that?” Keith had to yell over all of the battle noise that suddenly filled the air. 

“I don’t know-” Lance began, but was cut off when lazer guns began firing.

Apparently they were distracted enough by the explosion that a group of sentries and multiple Galra soldiers were swiftly approaching them.

Lance took Keith by the hand and pulled him to the nearest escape pod. Keith put his hand to the sensor and the door slid open. 

It was then that all of the soldiers fell upon them. Lance put up his shield. “Get inside!” He shoved Keith into the pod when the Black Paladin refused.

“What about you?” Keith asked when Lance turned from him. 

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll hold them off while you escape.” Lance looked back for a moment, blue eyes full of some sort of certainty and resolution. It sent chills down Keith’s spine. “Now get out of here!” Lance stepped away from the door, summoning his sniper gun.

Keith watched his companion as the doors of the escape pod shut. He had no time to savor Lance’s image before the pod was ejected into space, throwing him around like a ragdoll. 

What was he supposed to do next? He watched out the windows of the escape pod to get a look at what was going on. What had caused that explosion.

After the full ship came into view, he got his answer.

The blue, yellow, and green lions were launching a siege on the Galra ship that Lance and Keith had been imprisoned on. Keith couldn’t help but smirk. So they were being saved after all, eh?

Filled with new conviction, he attempted to steer the escape pod towards the Castle of Lions. He was going to get into his lion and help bust Lance out.

Keith made fast work of this. In no time at all he was in the Black Lion and catching up to team Voltron. 

“Keith!” Hunk was the first to notice him.

“How did you escape? And where’s Lance?” Pidge shouted over the heat of the battle.

Keith swallowed hard. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. Let’s just focus on the mission for right now.” He forced his lion forward and joined the attack on the ship. 

They did the best they could without being able to form Voltron. Allura, and Keith for that matter, were still trying to get used to their new lions. But even so, they were approving, and the battle was going quite well to their first one in the different lions. 

The ship was running out of reinforcements, that much was becoming obvious. But amidst the chaos and destruction, a regular battle ship approached them, but it wasn’t firing. Odd.

“You guys miss me?” Lance’s voice suddenly cut through on the intercom.

“Lance!” All the paladins and Coran exclaimed at once. 

“How did you guys know where to find us?” Lance said. Keith saw him steer the ship towards the Castle, the Red Paladin was probably trying to get to his lion.

“Well at first we went in the Green Lion to break into the drilling base, but then we realized that you weren’t there. We found this ship not too far from Tera and started attacking it.” Allura spoke through the comms. 

“Wow. Sounds like you guys have been busy.” Lance pulled up to them in Red. “Yeah, Keith and I have been pretty busy too.” he could hear the playful smirk in Lance’s voice even over the comms.

“Yeah we have. But now it’s time to form Voltron!” Keith’s demand was followed by cheers from the rest of the team.

Once Voltron had been formed, taking down the ship was easy, especially with Coran backing them up in the Castle of Lions. In a matter of less than ten minutes, the Galra ship was defeated, and they even had time to go back to Tera and free the citizens from their Galra internment. The Voltron crew celebrated their victory and headed back to the hangars. 

For some reason, Keith’s heart began to race as he flew into the hangars. He was mostly focus on Lance, who before he was sure had perished in his attempt to save him. Lance sacrificed himself for him, knowing that there was a huge chance that he’d be defeated. Yet he still took that risk. For . . .him, of all people. Why? I mean before, he seemed to believe that that had some sort of rivalry going on, but now all the sudden he was putting himself in harm’s way to protect him. Perhaps they were becoming closer. 

As soon as Keith exited his lion he rushed to meet the other Paladins. The first person he saw was Lance, and that’s all he could focus on. The Red Paladin was just taking off his helmet when Keith threw his arms around him in a tight hug.

“K-Keith?” Lance was obviously caught off guard, as he stumbled backwards from the force of Keith’s hug. 

But Keith didn’t care, all he cared about was that Lance was here, in his arms. And that he was willing to do anything for him. That was enough.

Keith pulled back and pressed their lips together. He let out a satisfied sigh as Lance melted into the kiss, wrapping his own arms around Keith’s waist. He heard gasps and whistles from the other Paladins but it didn’t phase him. All he cared about in that moment was that Lance’s lips were on his. 

When they finally pulled away, a bit out of breath, everyone was staring at them. Coran was in tears, Allura was smiling happily, and Hunk and Pidge were exchanging knowing smirks. 

Keith cleared his throat. “Um . . . I’m glad you’re okay, Lance.”

Lance nodded. “You too, Keith.” he nodded, looking around at their audience. “You know what? Screw this.” he pulled Keith in for another passionate kiss, leaving the others to leave the room awkwardly.

And yeah, the embarrassment would definitely consume him tomorrow. And the rest of the gang would never let them live it down, teasing them profusely. But Keith let Lance kiss him slowly, revelling in the joy of the moment.

Keith used to feel light years away from everyone else. He never let anyone become close to him, he would never let himself become that vulnerable to anyone. But perhaps Lance would be an exception to this. And maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, not as long as I'd hoped to make it, but I think it ties it all up pretty nicely. A short and sweet ending. Sometimes you need that in a fic.


End file.
